Hello All,

This Maine group looks pretty dead, but I thought I'd see if anyone has any thoughts on the staff and doctors of the Bariatric Center of MaineGeneral in Augusta. I'd love to hear them! Thanks!

Oh my! No rest for the weary:).. Good luck today, and I hope to heck they find a vein quicker than usual. I was incredibly nervous the day before, and kind of mellow the day- of as well.. I did great til I got there, and panicked a little, but once I had some "happy juice" I was swell:) I am so happy for you that this is finally happening!! Next time I hear from you, you'll be a bandster!!! YAY!

GO GET 'EM!

:)Kerri

Thinking of you girl... I hope everything went ok! May I be the first to say congrats on being an official bandster?!:thumbup: Can't wait to hear from you..

I just noticed your title on the top post- off to see the wizard.. lol.. I hope the wizard did his magic, and treated you well.

:)Kerri

Hey Kerri- Sorry I didn't post yesterday- I stayed at my aunt's cottage on the lake- no internet there.

Things went well, once they went! I was just leaving the house at 8:30am on Tuesday when my phone rang- Darn it! It was Me General, the Air conditioning in the OR was broken down, and they didn't know how long it would take to fix- they told me to stay home and wait for a call. SO, about 1.5 hrs later they called and told me to head that way:thumbup:. SO, I went in at 12:00 instead of 11:00. No big deal- everything went well. I had a reaction to the pain meds they gave me, so they loaded me up with benedryl and epinephrine. I stayed until 5:30pm, and then went home( to camp). I am getting conflicting instructions, though. My overly cautious aunt was the only one to get my instructions from the Dr and nurse. She's telling me different things than that of my instructions... Oh well. I'll find out later- I was a bit confused weather or not I actually have a fill now or not. I asked the nurse, and she said that they didn't refill it. Does that mean they didn't fill it any more than the 3-4cc he said he would put in it, or that there is no fill at all? Did you get a first fill in the OR??

Other than that, I feel like a million bucks (have trampled over my abdomen). Not too bad, but not really comfortable. Youve been there, you know what I mean!

I hope everything contiues to go well with you!

Take care- going to get some more good drugs.

Sarah

YAY! You're a bandster:) What a mess trying to get in, huh? It sounds like they are bound to hold up surgery no matter who you are.. I thought it was just me and my crap luck!

Glad to hear you are doing well. After the first couple of days I felt a lot more human, but all together it wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be.. Is it more/ less discomfort than you were expecting? I'm sure you'll make it through this like a champ, you seem like quite a tough cookie:)

How are the kiddos treating you? Hopefully you're being treated like a queen. I made sure I played it up for all it was worth! lol My husband and sister waiting on me hand and foot... How amusing to look back!

As for your fill.... I wasn't filled in the OR, the doc said the band he used came pre filled with about 2cc's in it. Do you know what band you got? I wonder if you had some saline in there as well to begin with? You could call and ask? I had a heavy feeling in my chest every time I sipped on something, and when I called they said it was restriction from swelling, and the pre fill.. Do you feel any different when you drink?

Well, I hope you're resting comfortably on your pain meds.. I'm envious, I got my a/c's out today, and boy, I'm feeling it tonight.. Take a dose (or 2) for me lol

Chat soon

~Kerri

p.s. congrats again! I can't tell you how psyched I am for you!

Hey kerri-

Well, today I am without pain meds of any kind. The only pain I can feel is a little pain in my shoulder (gas) and the port incision. Man, I am making and correcting so many type-o's today- it seems like meds are still on board! Anyway, I do think I had the pre filled band, as I can feel the pressure and trickle everytime I take a sip of any liquid. They said that pudding was ok in the binder for 1st week post op,, so I have been able to finish about 1/2 of a premade pudding cup for a meal- then I'm full. I also had about 6 tblsp of pea Soup for breakfast- that filled me up as well. I think alot of the full feeling is gas pain,either the pain itself, or the pressure caused by it.

Hope your'e having a great day, on regular food... hum, that dosent even seem like something I'd want right now- isnt' it funny how a piece of silicone can change your whole mental outlook on food??

Keep me posted on your loss! I checked out your March bandsters forum, I hope you don't mind me sneaking in on your month of fame!!:teeth_smile:.

You look absouluely fabulous!:biggrin: keep up the great work! You'll be at goal before you know it!:biggrin:

Take care,

Sarah

Hey girl! How's everything going? Sorry it's been a while.. It's been a busy few days, and now I'm back to work tomorrow.. Ugh! I can't win.

So how is everything going for you? Have you been able to stay off pain meds? I think as of day #3 I had no pain meds except for once and a while at night time to ease some discomfort...

I see that your ticker now says -34, you must've lost more since surgery?! Holy crap girl, you must be feeling fabulous! You've caught up to me! I better get my butt moving:)

Are you craving real food yet? Do you have to cook for the kids? That was the worst for me.. When I started feeling better, and was cooking for my husband, the smell of the food got to me.

Well, I hope everything is going well for you! Congrats on your loss. I'm still stuck at 204.. And anxiously waiting for the scale to move!

Chat soon:)

~Kerri

Hey Kerri!

Good to hear from you! Yeh, I'm down 12 lbs since surgery. I had originally lost 22 lbs pre-op, but had gone back up 3 lbs or so just before surgery- not binging or anything, but "water wt". So I started surgery at 238, and now I'm at 226, as of this morning.

I was off the pain meds the 2nd day, as any more gagging the meds down I was afraid of vomiting! Ok one thing to say- liquids suck! I have a whole new appreciation for stuff like mashed potato and pudding! Tuesday I'm having mashed potatoes for Breakfast (with my disolvable protien powder = 21g of protien in a scoop)! Oh man, The kids had ham with potatos and peas last night- man, did that ever look so good! Oh well, One more day of this torrid liquid stage! I am almost afraid to eat real food! I can feel cold liquid run down my esophogus, then stop, then slowly trickle down! I'm FULL on 2 Tablespoons of soup! What am I going to do with real food? Did you have that problem with liquids? It sure makes drinking enough Water a pain! I'm drinking my 20 oz Isopure Protein drinks, 2 a day, so that's 80g of Protein, and at least 40oz of Fluid, plus about 16 oz of water throughout the day on top of that, plus my 1/2 cup of broth that is my meal 3x a day. Sorry to ramble, I'm boored out of my gourd! I still have 1 week off of work to go!

How was your week? Are you going to the support group This Monday? I'm going to go,as this is about the only one that will ever fit in my work schedule.

Don't worry about the wt loss stall- it will happen! Your body is going through alot since your fill, and it will take time to adjust.

I don't know if I reccomend this or not, but on this site some people have mentioned kick starting a plateau by eating something terribly forbidden- like a milkshake, or what ever you can think of that will shock your system! Again, I don't know if it works, it seem to for them, but go with your own opinion!

Take care, talk later-

Sarah

I may try the meeting tonight.. What time is it? Do you have the directions to the new place in Hollowell? I know I didn't spell that right lol.. The nutritionist told me that broths and protein drinks count toward your daily fluid intake, so it seems that you are right on top of things! I was also told by the nurse that the first week it's hard to get everything in, and not to worry if all goal weren't met. 12 freaking lbs?! That's fabulous! You must be psyched! I can't remember what I lost in the first week, but I know it wasn't near 12... I'll have to check back in the chart on my ticker..

Last night I was looking through the Christmas pics that we sent out this past year.. It kind of gave me hope. I was 252 at Christmas time, and now I am at 204... It sucks to have the scale holding steady, but to look at those pics made me pretty happy. I'll have to post up a few, and one of my kayaking adventure on Saturday.. Sometimes it makes me feel better to compare, and realize that I have lost..

Well, I'm off to work, then hopefully bring my poor dog to the vets. He has an embedded tick on him:( I feel soooo guilty.. I called the Auburn emergency vet yesterday, and they said it would be fine to hold off until today.. I spend nearly $60/ month on Frontline so this won't happen.. Grrrr... WTH?!

LOL.. I'll stop complaining now. If you can get back to me with the address in Hollowell, I'll see what I can do. I'm hoping the vet gets me right in so I'll have the evening off, and I'll be there! yay:)

Hope you're amused by reading this rambling post lol.. I know the boredom issue killed me too!

Chat soon~

Kerri

Hey Kerri-

The meeting tonight is 5:30-6:30. I can't find the address for it, but it's at Granite Hill Estates, in the main building, which is 1/2 way up the hill of the "community" that Granite Hill is. It's not in any of the smaller housing outfits there. Man, I wish I could remember- i just plug it into my GPS. Maybe you could call the bariatric center and ask for good directions? I remember I took a left somewhere on Western Avenue in Augusta, onto route??? You may have an easier time by asking the center! You are coming from a different direction. Or, if you think you could, we could meet up beforehand somewhere, and you could follow me. i can email you my cell #.Just let me know. Tonight's topic is "dealing with body image changes", I don't know about you, but every meeting seems to turn into a gab session, and the topic never really comes up!! lol- we are all there to support eachother.

Kayaking! WHOOO!!! What fun! Man, do you feel like a new woman, or what?? It sounds like you are going to have an awesome summer!

Maybe if you go tonight, you can ask what you can do about the plateau? If you arent there, I will ask for you! (If you want!).

Well, chat later, Just let me know what you want to do!

Sarah

Hey girl.. I just got the address off the Maine General website, and did a mapquest search.. I think I've got it!:biggrin: I come from the other side of Augusta, by the Market Place at Augusta. Just before there I'll hit the Interstate, and it's only a couple miles out. A lot easier than all of the in town traffic I usually have to beat, and the rotary..

See you tonight! It's exciting to finally get to meet face to face:)

Cool- See you there!

In case you don't recognize me from my pics- I will be wearing a green/ tan columbia pullover jacket, dk blue jeans, and I have very curly brown hair:) Yup.. that's me lol

Hey Kerri- SO great to finally meet in person tonight! You look great!! Just remember what they all were saying- the scale won't budge for a couple of weeks, then,,, BAM 10 lbs overnight! YOu have it coming- I can feel it! Especially after all that kayaking!

Take care, See you later- or sooner, or whenever!

Sarah

It was great to meet you too. You know, I forgot to ask a couple of questions- about being pushy with fills, and about eating something "bad" to break a plateau.. My next fill is next Thursday, guess I'll wait til then. I can't freaking wait?! I am eating 1- 1 1/2c of food?! At the beginning of all this I couldn't get a 1/2c in me. I hope the doc will be understanding, and let me help call the shots when it comes to fills. It's hard to go so long in between. I'm sure the amount I'm eating isn't helping with the plateau either:( I could snack allll day. It's healthy snacks, but it's just adding more calories. (to make me not feel as though I'm starving I have to snack, which I never had to do before my fill).

Well, hope you have a great day! I'm taking the pup to the vet. I hope he gets a good report. I'm questioning hypothyroidism:( Guess I'll have to wait and see..

:)Kerri